Singlespeed & Fixed Gear"I still feel that variable gears are only for people over forty-five.
Isn't it better to triumph by the strength of your muscles than by the artifice of a derailer? We are getting soft...As for me, give me a fixed gear!"-- Henri Desgrange (31 January 1865 - 16 August 1940)

Well . . . kinda. Anyway, I am looking for the best suited chain tensioner for my single speed road bike that will let me use two gears (one for flats and the other for hills) on my rear cassette. I am riding a conversion and don't have the funds for a flip/flop wheel. The rear cogs I am using have a two tooth (wow, say that fast ten times) difference, so I guess the chain tensioner I need has to be able to adjust for that. I am currently using a derailluer (no cable) with a longer adjusting screw to align between the two gears. I currently have the two gears spaced out on the cassette where they both align just inside and outside of the front ring. Do you think that with a standard chain tensioner I will drop the chain with this kind of setup? Perhaps the Paul Components Melvin will work? Thanks all.

Well . . . kinda. Anyway, I am looking for the best suited chain tensioner for my single speed road bike that will let me use two gears (one for flats and the other for hills) on my rear cassette. I am riding a conversion and don't have the funds for a flip/flop wheel. The rear cogs I am using have a two tooth (wow, say that fast ten times) difference, so I guess the chain tensioner I need has to be able to adjust for that. I am currently using a derailluer (no cable) with a longer adjusting screw to align between the two gears. I currently have the two gears spaced out on the cassette where they both align just inside and outside of the front ring. Do you think that with a standard chain tensioner I will drop the chain with this kind of setup? Perhaps the Paul Components Melvin will work? Thanks all.

Chuck the chain tensioner. White Industries has an Eno Eccentric hub that will allow you to run a fixed gear setup with vertical dropouts. So why bother with a kludgy chain tensioner? Besides the bike looks nicer without one.

One option is to use a ratio that will not change your wheel position.

I have a dos eno freewheel that has 2 speeds 16/19. In the front I have a 45T and a 42T chainring. The chain length on the 16/45 and the 19/42 is the same. I can switch back and fourth between the two and I the position in the dropouts is the same and I don't have to fiddle with the brake pad position. An added bonus is that both chainlines are nearly perfect.

Granted I have horizontal dropouts so it is less of a problem if it is not perfect, but it also gives me a really good range of gears,.... something for the flats and something for the hills.

In this way, which is especially easy with a cassette conversion, your chain tensioner can remain fixed and still work perfectly.